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After more than 18 months and 37K km it is vexing as well as a little embarrassing to find myself sometimes needing a second attempt in order to park my 300h perfectly straight without the assistance of the rear-view camera. While not losing too much sleep over this, I was nevertheless relieved to learn from some recent posts (see Parallel Parking) that others may have the same problem. Of course, any issues involving parking are generally likelier to be the fault of the driver than the car, but I sincerely believe this may not be entirely true in the case of the present-generation IS, which, speaking for myself, I find demands greater care in manoeuvring than any other car I have ever driven (excepting a Lamborghini Countach which I surprisingly managed to leave undamaged after its owner let me take it around his private car-park for a nerve- racking couple of minutes). This, I believe, is partly due to the relative absence of straight vertical lines in the driver's forward vision, which makes it difficult to judge the car's centre and therefore its width, but mostly to the design of the door-panels, which, especially when you are aiming to park parallel to a real or imagined line, can deceive you into thinking you have straightened the car when you might actually have been guided by the angle of the tapered sill. When thinking about this, it came to mind that one or two passengers have remarked, as my wife regularly still does, that I often seem to be driving too close to the side of the road. However, on the evidence of my habitual practice of aligning the central headrest with the middle of my lane in the rear-view mirror, this cannot be true. So, ever mindful of the opinions of others, I thought I would spend a day with my long-suffering wife at the wheel and myself as a passenger, and indeed, I did get the quite strong impression that the 300h was not keeping to its lane or was too close to the side. My knuckles were whitest in long shallow curves when I thought, completely erroneously, that the car was going straight and needed to be steered towards centre. Again, as in the aforementioned parking situations, I felt that my impression was based on the tendency of the eye to follow the line of the sill rather than automatically identify and immediately adjust to the car's real directional angle. Before asking whether anybody else has similar issues, I should add that I drink only in moderation, do not take hallucinatory drugs, and regularly have my eyesight tested.

That's your view buddy and not a view I share. I'm not after an IS-F or an IS350. If i was, I would have bought one. I'm not modding my IS250 because I want it to look like an IS-F, if that was the case I would have got the full IS-F bodykit. I liked the rear-end of the IS-F when it came out and that's when and why I only did the rear-end conversion back then. I've owned my IS250 since it was 12 months old, I am happy with it and have been spending money on it gradually, nothing that kills the bank. I also have a 2013 RX450h. I mod for my own pleasure, not for resale value. A car is always depreciating, unless it's a classic or antique. I didn't buy it back in 2007 with the thought of selling it in mind. The pleasure and satisfaction of the comments I get on the road wherever I go is way worth the effort and money. For me modding is not only creating something to my own taste but also a huge learning platform. I cannot emphasize enough how much knowledge i've gained from modding. This in itself is invaluable and only experience can make you better at what you do (practice makes perfect). I haven't just been modding my Lexus, past few years i've been busy working with "RenaultSport" cars and have been selling a custom made product by me to customers worldwide (mainly Australia, Singapore, Spain, France, Malaysia and UK) Through this I made a profit in the region of £35,000 in a span of 8 months. I see that as an achievement and would not have been possible without the continuous trial and errors of modding. Furthermore, I've also been approached by "Internet Brands, Inc." (The company that runs ClubLexus) to write how-to articles on my mods for a new how-to platform they are launching. This is something i have done and been paid for each article. Being asked to write paid articles for Internet Brands was a pleasure and gave me great satisfaction. This achievement is invaluable to me and was through all the exposure I got through my published mods.

Given the work involved that's pretty good going. A water pump and pulleys should be, or ought to be good for 100,000 miles....for an average motor but for a quality product I'd expect double. Don't you hate this commodity approach? Well all the related bits should be replaced etc etc. No they should last the lifetime of the vehicle.

I would also ask a few questions about the LPG conversion... how old is it, whether it was done prior to importing the car or in the UK, and if in the UK by which company. I don't know much about LPG conversions - some others on this forum will be able to give you some advice - but I do know that the quality of the installation does vary a lot. Once you know who the installer was, you may be able to check on its reputation etc...

Sorted, thanks for your help. If all else fails, read the instructions. :)

Hi Parrot I bought my RX300 with a seized rear wiper. I told the vendor and he arranged to get a new wiper motor under the 3 months guarantee.After waiting a while I fixed it by removing the wiper as you have and removed the gears from the wiper gearbox. I then grasped the output drive shaft away from the end with Mole Grips and rotated it back and forth. It eventually moved and then I introduced oil then kept it moving until it was a smooth movement. This was in October 2014 and it is still working. I never got my new wiper under guarantee. I was quoted £50 from an online breaker for a working one but MAKE SURE you get the correct unit i.e quote the serial/part number to the breaker over the phone/via email. Best Wishes Murphybear

I'm planning on fitting a Dyson multi vortex vacuum cleaner on mine, it works by connecting it to the vacuum lines and providing extra suction,dragging more air into the inlet manifold and therefore producing a lot more power from the engine whereas a supercharger blows more air in. It's very consistent as there is no bag to get clogged so no loss of suction,just clean the hepa filter every 6000 miles. I've had it running really well with the car parked but discovered on a road test the mains lead is a little short and the plug comes out of the socket in the garage after travelling 10 yards, I'm obviously still working on this small annoying problem but have seen a 50 metre extension cable on Amazon. :)